ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo Bills first-year coach Joe Brady used the team’s first practice in its new $2.1 billion stadium to enjoy a brief father-son moment on Saturday night.
With fans beginning to file in, and rock music blaring over the state-of-the-art sound system, Brady emerged from the tunnel holding his 3-year-old son Jordan in his arm while enjoying a walk around the sideline.
As much as the first-year coach wanted to use the practice
to simulate a game-day routine and get accustomed to the team’s new surroundings, Brady couldn’t help but work family into the equation.
“Those are the moments that I made sure I tried to take in,” Brady said. “So when I say hey, I’m focused, let me just take a second to enjoy a special moment, because once the season goes, you know those are going to be few and far between.”
Soon after, it was back to football for Brady, who at 36 is the NFL’s youngest coach entering this season, and also for a Bills team that officially made the move across the street into its new digs.
The first practice at Highmark Stadium featured a crowd of at least 30,000, a couple of Josh Allen touchdown passes, a brief but heavy downpour, and closed with a fireworks show.
Buffalo will get more chances to break in the new facility before hosting Detroit in its regular-season home opener on Sept. 17. The Bills will also host two preseason games, starting with a meeting against Carolina on Aug. 15.
“It’s awesome. I know everybody loved ‘The Ralph’ and what was over there across the street,” right tackle Spencer Brown said, referring to the Bills former home, also called Highmark. The old home was dubbed The Ralph in honor of franchise founder Ralph Wilson.
“But this is a whole new atmosphere and it’s awesome to call it home. And I look forward to seeing how it is on a normal game day,” Brown added. “It seems like the crowd’s more on top of you. And I imagine on third down it will be rocking.”
With a capacity of just over 60,000, the new stadium has 12,000 fewer seats than the Bills old home. And yet the vertical configuration of the new stadium, with levels stacked overtop one another, brings the fans closer to the action and designed to contain the noise.
“It’s intimidating,” season ticket-holder Tom Beecher said, from his first-row seat at the 15-yard-line. “It’s going to be interesting when it really gets rocking in here. It’s less people, but I feel like it’s going to be louder. It feels like more.”
The loudest cheers were devoted to Allen, of course. They first rose when Allen was pictured on the video-screen boards at each of the stadium during the pre-practice stretching period.
Allen looked up, smiled and provided a thumbs up.
Later, he drew even louder cheers for completing would-be touchdown passes to DJ Moore and then Khalil Shakir.
Place-kicker Tyler Bass gave the new stadium a thumbs-up for its design and aesthetics.
“First impressions, man, it’s amazing. I think it’s a work of art, honestly. It’s very easy on the eye, very symmetrical,” Bass said.
He also credited the design features, including a curved overhang, in working to limit the effects of the wind. Pre-storm wind gusts outside the stadium were barely felt at field level.
Starting center Connor McGovern was escorted to the locker room after appearing to hurt his left leg. Backup running back Ty Johnson did not return after going down with a non-contact injury. Brady did not have any immediate updates on the two players. ... The Bills are off Sunday. The team resumes training camp at its home facility on Monday after spending the past two weeks at St. John Fisher University in Pittsford, New York. ... Though Brady wanted to use the practice as a test-run for game day communications, not all of his staff was present. Offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael was excused to attend Drew Brees’ induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Carmichael was the Saints offensive coordinator during much of Brees' tenure in New Orleans.
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